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I have seen hell, and it has all the purity of an ant colony. I have been witness to the death of worlds brought about by the acts of unruly children. But nothing that I have seen until now can compare with what I will see tomorrow. For the world is truly changing, and what it will be like when it is done, is something that not even I can foretell.

Blind are the eyes of the prophet.

A dreamseer's lament.

Chapter Twenty : Life in the simulator.

Taking a few tentative steps forward as the train he was standing atop of drifted through the endless night, Kato could feel the path of the wind brushing against his fur, the weight of the sword as it hung loose against his hip, even the memories of the way the the world had used to smell were contained within the Sonzairon no Issho, and despite experiencing it countless times, he still hadn't gotten used to it.

In a way, it was more amazing than anything he ever could have imagined. The data-disc that Morishita had left behind contained within it nothing less than an entire world, one in which the collective experiences of an uncountable number of martial artists, scholars and philosophers had been distilled into their purest form, so that their secrets would still have the chance to be passed on, even if a true successor could not be found.

But it had also been so much more then that. As the weeks had turned into months, and the months into years, he had gradually worked his way through the different levels of the program. Learning the art, history, and culture that had served to shape entire generations, he had managed to make a place for himself in a world that was not his own, had learned the intricacies of a life that he had never known from the moments stolen from time. And all the while the intensive training he endured under the watchful tutelage of Morishita's phantom self served to transform his body. Gone was every indication of physical injury that had once served to hinder his movements, he was now stronger then he had ever been and when he had last looked at himself in a mirror, it seemed impossible to think that he had ever been so weak as to let himself be beaten within an inch of his life.

Now, watching as an endless sea of stars drifted solemnly overhead He swung his sword, pointing to each of the three combat mechs that surrounded him in turn. “You. Hakkyoku Ken. You. Bagua Zhang. You.” Tossing the final combat mech his sword. “Shintetsu Ryu.” Taking up a defensive stance Kato shouted the word. “Begin!”

Almost immediately he was set upon by a flurry of attacks.

Moving with a speed no human could ever hope to match they lashed out, determined to bring him down despite the damage he might do to them in return. Of course, as machines they felt no fear, no hesitation, no doubt. It was as much a battle of wits as survival, and he needed all the skills he had mastered simply to hold his own.

Breaking through the ambush, He ran against the flow of the train creating some distance between himself and his opponents. Having fended off the first wave of attacks the combat mechs adopted human guises. Each one now looked, acted, and thought exactly like those who had given their memories to create the Sonzairon no Issho. Which means they're even deadlier now then they were before.

Rather then simply follow after him as their machine counterparts would have done, they knew the value of patience, and would wait for the perfect opportunity before they closed in and attacked.

A low growl escaping from his throat as he weighed his options Kato hated to admit it but the difference in strength that existed between himself and his opponents was just enough to be considered overwhelming. And though He had endured this scenario multiple times before simply waiting to be attacked had almost always led to his downfall. So did rushing ahead blindly.

Dammit! He swore at himself. They're designed to think and act just like normal humans would. So what's their weakness?

The fact they're actually human.

Focusing all of his attention on the one who held the sword, Kato lowered his center of gravity until he was just barely touching the train with the tips of his fingers and forced all of his fur to stand on end. Snarling at them with a feral look in his eyes, he let loose an ear splitting roar.

It worked spectacularly. Catching them off guard with his sudden transformation from a normal human opponent into a ferocious man eating tiger, he forced them to adopt tactics different from the ones he fought against before. Now he had the advantage, after all, they were no longer simply fighting against an unarmed opponent, but an actual tiger.

Slipping his claws free from their sheaths, Kato roared his challenge to the samurai and lunged. It was a dangerous gamble, taking on an armed opponent using only the weapons that nature had given him. Still, it just meant that he would have to trust in his own skills to make up for the difference in reach.

Keeping up with the facade He began confusing his opponent with a series of movements that were a mixture of human and animal.

Unsure of how best to attack such a target, Kato was able to brush aside his strikes as he closed the distance between them. The bite of the samurai's sword feeling every bit as real as if he had actually been stabbed, Kato ignored the pain that flared to life in his shoulder, and grabbing the samurai by the throat, threw him from the train.

Dusting off his hands, he looked at the other's and said. “One down, two to go. Which of you wants to be next?”

Wasting no time with hesitation both monks came at him at once.

As if Bagua Zhang and Hakkyoku Ken weren't already bad enough on their own together they were an absolutely deadly combination.

Suddenly forced to defend himself against two full fledged masters, and unable to even find the flow amidst the mixture of their opposing two styles, Kato was hard pressed just to find an opportunity in which he would be able to successfully launch a counter attack.

Dammit! Thought Kato as he deflected a strike that would have shattered the arm of a normal human had it simply been blocked. This isn't getting me anywhere! The moment I attack, they defend. The moment I defend, they attack. He stepped backwards, attempting to buy himself more time to think. Focus Kato, you know there's an answer in all of this somewhere. So, the question is, will they give me the time I need to find it?

Playing back the battle in his mind, Kato began to beat a hasty retreat. Bagua Zhang is hard and slow. Hakkyoku Ken is soft and fast. That means both of them are able to make up for something the other lacks in their techniques. Sparing a moment to look over his shoulder, Kato swore under his breath. Both of them were catching up, and any moment now he was going to run out of train. Shit! Shit! Shit! I need some kind of an advantage, I need something that can help me force them apart. I need . . . I need. Reach! The image of a sword disappearing into the darkness of the night suddenly flashed through his mind as he realized his error. Ah crap.

By throwing the sword wielder from the train, he had managed to lower the number of enemies that he had to face, but by failing to capture the sword, he had also left himself bereft of a valuable weapon and tool.

Reaching the end of the train, Kato spun on his heel and said. “Neither of you wouldn't happen to have a spare sword lying around you could lend me, would you? No? Damn.”

Before Kato could even think to prepare a proper defense, an open handed strike to the stomach caused him to fall to his knees.

With the wind knocked out of him, Kato watched as the killing blow seemed to come at him with an almost agonizing slowness, until he shouted the words. “I yield!”

The monk's stiffened fingers stopped just inches away from his throat.

Appearing before him in place of the monk that was about to kill him, Morishita started to clap his hands together, something that Kato had never seen him do before. “Not bad.” He said as the other combat mech returned to its neutral form. “You managed to last three minutes this time. It would seem that you've improved your skills considerably. But its still not enough.” As the train began to pull into the station, Morishita said. “The world beyond these walls is a vast place, and no doubt there are many trials that await you, but it is those same trials that will help you grow stronger.”

Watching as his master leapt from the train Kato let out a sorry sounding sigh. Morishita's words were a grim reminder that no matter how hard he had tried to forget, no matter how much it may have seemed to have come to a halt, the flow of time continued to move ever onwards in the real world as well.

“How long,” Following after him, Kato leapt from the train, all the while saying. “How long must I continue to chase after your shadow!” Whether it was the wrong thing to say, or the wrong thing to do, in the end it didn't matter. Having sacrificed his sure footing in order to follow after his master, Kato had left himself open to being attacked, a fact that Morishita didn't hesitate to take advantage of.

Grabbing him by the throat, Morishita held him mere inches away from the still moving train. “Never falter before an enemy. To reveal that you have weaknesses, is to give them the very thing they need to defeat you.” Seeing the look of fear on Kato's face, His tone became deadly serious. “You still haven't learned to take control of the terrain. Remember. If you make the place of battle one of your own choosing, then you can turn your enemies strength against them.”

As if to prove his point Morishita simply let go.

There was no pain, no tearing of bone and sinew as the train grew insubstantial. Passing through it as if it were made of nothing more solid then air, Kato choked back the urge to scream. Even though it was only an illusion, even though there had been no real chance of him actually getting hurt, the reality of how easily he had allowed himself to be caught off guard left him shaking. Life was nothing if not unforgiving of such mistakes.

“If this were real life.” He said after the train had passed. “I could have died.”

“Make no mistakes about it.” Said Morishita as, stepping off the platform he landed next to Kato. “If this were real life, you would have died.”

Content to simply look up at the stars, Kato asked his master. “But was killing me really necessary? Surely you could have proved your point another way.”

“And will your enemies accept anything less than your life? Will they simply walk away and say, game well played?”

“No. I guess not.” Sighing as Morishita helped him to his feet, Kato said. “Because there is no reward without risk, no easy road for me to follow in order to win, I must be willing to lay everything on the line. And if that means I must gamble with everything that I have, even my own life, then so be it.”

Pleased to see that Kato had already begun to internalize the teachings of the Sonzairon no Issho, Morishita nodded and said. “That is why we must train to the brink of death, not to understand that we have limits, but to help us realize that once we have stepped beyond them,” He pulled a blindfold out of his pocket. “Everything become possible.”

Huh . . . Thought Kato to himself. That actually sounds, wise. Pointing to the blindfold he asked. “But, what's the blindfold for?”

Smiling deviously Morishita simply said. “Just think of it as your next lesson.”